In this section

DALTON

Daltone, Dom. Bk.; Dalton, 1212.

Dalton occupies hilly ground south of the River
Douglas. The highest point is Ashhurst Beacon,
known locally as the 'Beetle,' 569 ft. above sea level.
From it the land slopes away gradually on every side.
The district is extensively cultivated, fields of corn,
potatoes, and other root-crops alternating with
pastures. Plantations of trees appear more especially
on the north-east under the lee of the hill and away
from the assault of westerly sea winds. A few insignificant brooks find their way towards the Douglas,
which forms the northern boundary of the township
and divides the Hundred of West Derby from that
of Leyland. The view from the top of the hill near
the Beacon is an extensive one, affording a fine
panorama of the surrounding country. The preponderance of holly trees and hedges on the sheltered
side of the district is a noticeable feature. There are
many picturesque stone-built houses in the neighbourhood. The soil appears to be loam and clay, over
solid sandstone rock. The area is 2,103½ acres. (fn. 1)
The population in 1901 was 422.

The road from Upholland to Newburgh crosses the
township in a north-west direction, ascending and
descending; Ashhurst Hall and the church lie on the
western slope of the ridge; to the north are Hawksclough and Dalton Lees, and to the south lies Elmer's
Green. Prior's Wood is in the north, and Cassicarr
Wood on the eastern boundary.

There is a colliery.

The township is governed by a parish council.

Ashhurst Beacon was erected a century ago, when
a French invasion was regarded as imminent.
Watchers were stationed day and night to be ready to
light the beacon fire, and thus give notice of the
enemy's landing.

MANOR

At the death of Edward the Confessor,
DALTON was held by Uctred as one
plough-land; its value was the normal
32d. (fn. 2) On the formation of the Manchester fee
Dalton was included in it, and probably about 1150
Albert Grelley the elder enfeoffed Orm son of
Ailward, of Kirkby Ireleth, of a knight's fee in
Dalton, Parbold, and Wrightington, in marriage
with his daughter Emma. The heirs of Orm held it
in 1212. (fn. 3) Dalton was reputed part of the Manchester
fee down to the 17th century. (fn. 4)

The descent of the mesne lordship it is not possible
to trace clearly. The descendants of Orm were the
Kirkbys of Kirkby Ireleth, who long retained an
interest in part of the fee of Dalton, Parbold, and
Wrightington. Dalton and Parbold as half a knight's
fee seem very early to have been granted to the
Lathom family, (fn. 5) and Parbold and part at least of
Dalton were in turn granted to younger sons. In
the 13th century Dalton was held by Richard de
Orrell, Richard le Waleys of Aughton, and Henry de
Torbock, but how their interests had arisen there is
nothing to show, though the Torbocks no doubt held
their quarter of the manor by a grant from the
Lathoms.

The Orrell portion, called a fourth part of the
manor, (fn. 6) was like Orrell itself acquired by the Holland
family, (fn. 7) and descended in the same way to the
Lovels, (fn. 8) and, on forfeiture, to the Earls of Derby. (fn. 9)
The latter sold it about 1600 to the Orrells of
Turton, (fn. 10) who soon afterwards sold all their rights to
the Ashhursts. (fn. 11) The Dalton family, who took their
name from this township, but who are better known
as lords of Bispham in Leyland and afterwards of
Thurnham, probably held under the Hollands and
their successors. (fn. 12)

The Waleys portion was divided, half being given
to a younger branch of the family. Richard le
Waleys had a brother Randle, whose son Richerit was
a benefactor of Cockersand Abbey. (fn. 13) Adam the son of
Richerit sold his quarter share to Robert, lord of
Lathom, who granted it to the priory of Burscough. (fn. 14)

The priory continued to hold this quarter of the
manor to the Suppression, after which its fate has
not been ascertained; but all or most was probably
acquired by the Earls of Derby, (fn. 15) and remained with
this family till the sale of Lady Ashburnham's
estates. (fn. 16)

Orrell. Argent three torteaux between two bendlets gules, a chief sable.

The fourth part retained by
the Waleys family descended
like Uplitherland to the Bradshaghs, (fn. 17) and was sold in 1546
to Matthew Clifton, (fn. 18) and
then apparently to the Ashhursts, who before that seem
to have been the tenants under
Waleys and Bradshagh.

The remaining quarter, that
of the Torbocks, descended for
some time with the principal
manor of Tarbock; but this
portion of Dalton became, like
Turton, the share of the Orrell family. (fn. 19) The estate
was often called the manor of Walton Lees. A family
named Lascelles, of long continuance in this township
and Upholland, appear to have been the immediate
holders. (fn. 20)

In 1598 William Orrell of Turton was called lord
of 'three-fourths' of the manor, holding his hereditary share and that of the Holland family; and
William Ashhurst lord of 'one-fourth,' i.e. probably
the Waleys share. (fn. 21) The Burscough quarter does not
seem to be accounted for. Shortly afterwards, as
stated above, the Ashhursts acquired the Orrells' lands
and rights, and became sole lords of the manor. In
1751 they sold it to Sir Thomas Bootle, and it has
since descended with Lathom, the Earl of Lathom
being lord of the manor.

In the absence of records it is not possible to give a
satisfactory account of the Ashhurst family. (fn. 22) The
earliest known is Simon de Ashhurst, who about the
end of the reign of Henry III granted to his son Robert
all his land in Dalton, and to his son John all his land
in Ashhurst. (fn. 23) Robert son of Simon next occurs; (fn. 24)
and in 1300 Richard son of Robert de Ashhurst made
a release of lands in Pemberton. (fn. 25) This Richard acquired lands about the same time from Henry the
Miller of Skelmersdale, whose daughter Alice afterwards released her right in the same. (fn. 26) Richard's son
Adam was the most distinguished member of the
family until the Commonwealth period. He fought
in the French wars under Edward III and was
knighted, receiving also a grant of lands in Essex and
Hertfordshire. (fn. 27) He was succeeded by his son John,
who married Margery, daughter of Henry de Orrell, (fn. 28)
and had a son Roger. This Roger about 1385
married Maud, (fn. 29) daughter of Henry de Ince, leaving a
son Robert, whose son John de Ashhurst about 1437
married a daughter of Roger de Dalton. (fn. 30) From this
date there is an absence of documentary evidence until
the middle of the 16th century, (fn. 31) about which time, as
already stated, William Ashhurst acquired, probably
from the Bradshaghs of Aughton, a quarter of the
manor, and afterwards acquired the remainder from
William Orrell.

This William Ashhurst was in 1590 reported to be
'soundly affected in religion'; (fn. 32) and the family continued Protestant, adopting Puritan and Presbyterian
tenets. William Ashhurst died in 1618, (fn. 33) and was
succeeded by his son Henry, who married Cassandra
Bradshaw, (fn. 34) and had several children, including Henry,
the draper and alderman of London, a wealthy man
and a consistent Puritan. (fn. 35) The eldest son William
was a member of the Long Parliament, and also of
Cromwell's Parliament of 1654. (fn. 36) He died in January
1656–7, and was succeeded by his eldest son and heir
Thomas, who recorded a pedigree in 1664. John
Ashhurst, the brother of William and Henry, took an active
part in the Civil War on the
Parliamentary side, having a
commission as captain and
major. He engaged in the
second siege of Lathom, and
was present at the surrender
in December 1645; he was
subsequently governor of Liverpool. (fn. 37)

Ashhurst. Gules a cross between four fleurs-de-lis argent.

Thomas Ashhurst, aged
twenty-five in 1664, (fn. 38) was succeeded in 1700 by his son
Thomas Henry, who made a settlement of the manor
of Dalton in 1706, (fn. 39) and about thirty years later
succeeded also to the manor of Waterstock in Oxfordshire, which had been bought by the above-named
Alderman Henry Ashhurst. In 1751 the manors of
Dalton, Upholland, and Skelmersdale, with various
lands, were sold to Sir Thomas Bootle by Henry Ashhurst, son of Thomas Henry, (fn. 40) and apparently an elder
brother of Sir William Henry Ashhurst, the judge.

Families named Arrowsmith, (fn. 41) Prescott, (fn. 42) and Hol
land (fn. 43) also held lands in Dalton. In 1600 William
Ashhurst and William Moss were the only freeholders
recorded. (fn. 44)

In the 13th century an estate called Sifredlea is
recorded; it disappeared later. (fn. 46)

About 1400, 2 acres of land in Dalton, granted
without royal licence for the repair of Douglas Bridge,
were confiscated, but restored. (fn. 47)

For the adherents of the Established Church John
Prescott of the Grange, owner of the great tithes of
the township, turned the tithe barn into a place of
worship; a district was assigned to it in 1870, (fn. 48) and
it was consecrated in 1872; but five years later the
present church of St. Michael and All Angels was
built on an adjoining site, and the old one destroyed.
The patronage is in the hands of Mrs. Prescott. (fn. 49)

Footnotes

4. Ibid. 154 (Dalton probably included
with Parbold) and 248. For claims by
Lord La Warr see Ducatus Lanc. (Rec.
Com.), i, 264; ii, 74. From the Manchester Ct. Lect Rec. (ed. Earwaker) it
appears that constables for Dalton and
Parbold were summoned to the court leet
down to 1733, though they did not appear;
vii, 25.

5.
Inq. and Extents, i, 55; see also Final
Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 18.
Robert de Lathom was holding the
knight's fee in Parbold and Wrightington
in 1242 (p. 154). Robert de Lathom
was one of the tenants in 1282, but
Thomas de Ashton did suit; Mamecestre
(Chet. Soc.), i, 136. The Lathom tenure
was remembered in 1349; ibid. 443;
and even in the Feodary of 1483 it is
stated that 'Lord Stanley holds Allerton
and Dalton of Lord la Warre'; see also
Feud. Aids, iii, 94.

6. In the grants to Burscough of a
quarter of the vill John de Orrell has the
position of a superior lord, confirming
the grant; Burscough Priory Reg. fol.
31b. The same John granted to Burscough land held of him by Robert son of
Henry the Smith of Lees; ibid.
He and his father Richard were benefactors of Cockersand Abbey. One of
the father's grants was the half of
Lithurst, the other half of which seems
to have belonged to Richard le Waleys,
with lands of Burscough Priory adjacent.
John de Orrell made grants of Nelescroft
and Fernyhurst and of a piece of land, the
bounds of which cause the naming of
Full clough, Mickle clough, the Hill,
Edwin's ridding, Barn lache, the Dyke,
the carr, Lithurst and Buke side; acquittance of pannage for thirty pigs in
Dalton Wood was allowed with other
easements; Cockersand Chart. (Chet. Soc.),
ii, 621–5.

7. See the account of Orrell.
In 1320 Sir Robert de Holland was
the principal mesne tenant, Richard le
Waleys, the Prior of Burscough and Ellen
de Torbock following; Dalton and
Parbold are joined, but the tenant of the
latter is omitted; the service was 3s. for
sake fee and 5s. for ward of the castle of
Lancaster. From the later statement of
rents it is evident that half of this was
due from Dalton, and the other half from
Parhold; thus each of the four quarters
of the former should pay 1s.
In 1341 and again in 1349 it was
found that Maud de Holland held the
fourth part of Dalton of the lord of
Manchester in socage by a rent of 13d.
and the lord of Manchester of the Earl of
Lancaster by the same service; Inq. p.m.
15 Edw. III (2nd nos.), no. 30; 23
Edw. III, pt. i, no. 58. In the latter
year it was worth, in all issues, 53s. 4d.

8.
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 2.
The rent is this time stated as 6d., so
that half had been alienated, probably to
the Daltons.
A Manchester rental of 1473 shows the
division of the manor at that time: The
Prior of Burscough, 6d.; William Orrell,
jun. (of Turton), 12d.; Richard Bradshaw
of Uplitherland, 12d.; William Arrowsmith of Warrington, 6d.; Lord Lovel,
6d.; — Dalton, 6d. (making 4s.); Edward
de Lathom (of Parbold), 4s.; making up
the 8s. paid for sake fee and castle-ward
as in 1320; Mamecestre, 491.

10. Bridgeman, Wigan Ch. (Chet. Soc.),
257. Bishop Bridgeman recorded the
division of the manor among four lords,
of whom the Prior of Burscough was
one; and says—'All these four lords
called themselves lords thereof, and sometimes kept courts all jointly and sometimes severally'; 258.

11. Thomas Parker, who died in 1600,
held various messuages and lands in
Dalton of William Orrell, which in 1622,
when the inquisition was taken, were
held of Henry Ashhurst; Lancs. Inq.
p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii,
307.

12. Robert de Dalton is mentioned as
early as 1293; Inq. and Extents, 276.
In 1305 Robert de Dalton was claiming
common of pasture from Ellen, widow of
Henry de Lathom, and from the Prior of
Burscough; De Banco R. 154, m. 252 d.;
156, m. 119. There was another family
bearing the local name, who held of the
Torbocks; thus Gilbert son of Alan de
Dalton speaks of 'my lord, Henry de
Torbock'; Kuerden MSS. iii, T, 2,
no. 15. Robert de Dalton allowed the
Prior of Burscough to approve in the
hey of Dalton; Burscough Reg., fol.
34b.
The most conspicuous of the early
members of the family was Sir John de
Dalton, kt., whose exploit in carrying
off Margery de la Beche in 1347 has
been mentioned in the account of
Upholland. Robert de Dalton, his father,
was then living. Sir John died in 1369
holding 40 acres in Dalton of Roger La
Warr, lord of Manchester, in socage, by
the rent of 9d. yearly; Inq. p.m. 43
Edw. III, pt. i, no. 31. The service does
not agree with the 6d. named in the
rental previously quoted. Ellen, wife of
Robert de Urswick, was executrix; De
Banco R. 454, m. 141 d. For later
descents see the accounts of Bispham in
Leyland and Thurnham.

13. By a charter made in the first quarter
of the 13th century Richard le Waleys,
with the consent of his brother Randle,
gave land to Cockersand; Dolfin and
Itharthur were two of the tenants;
Cockersand Chart. ii, 616. This was
followed by grants and confirmation from
Richerit son of Randle le Waleys; the
first of these states that the quittance of
pannage had the consent of John de
Orrell; while another was for the benefit,
among others, of 'the soul of Thomas
Grelley, my patron' (advocatus); ibid. ii,
617–20. These charters contain a number of local names, as Hawk's nest
clough, Rushy lea, Rodelea pool, Sandyford, &c. Adam the son of Richerit
was also a benefactor; ibid. ii, 621.
The Cockersand lands were afterwards
held in 1451 by Henry Birchinshaw by a
rent of 12d., in 1501 by the Earl of
Derby, and in 1537 by the Prior of
Burscough (who denied); ibid. iv,
1244, &c.

14. Burscough Reg. fol. 31, 31b.
John le Waleys released to Sir Robert
de Lathom the annual rent of a pair of
gloves due to him from the fourth part of
the vill, which Richerit de Aughton and
Adam his son had held of the lord of
Uplitherland by that rent; ibid. fol. 33.
John le Waleys also granted lands in
Bokeside, the bounds beginning at Liveldsbridge; this charter mentions the house
which Robert de Legh founded on the
land of Blessed Nicholas of Burscough;
ibid. fol. 33b; see also fol. 32b for another
gift. His son Richard confirmed these
grants; ibid. fol. 35.
The other Burscough charters include
an agreement between the prior and
Richard son of Stephen de Lees and
Denise his wife as to land in Rodelea
carr; an engagement by Richard son of
Simon de Haselhurst for himself and his
heirs, to pay 6d. a year to the prior and
canons to the end of the world; and a
grant of Gibhey, between Priors' Hey
and the Douglas, made by Geoffrey de
Wrightington; ibid. fol. 34, 35.
At the Dissolution the priory was
drawing a rent of £6 3s. from its lands
in Dalton, viz. £4 from Dalton Hey,
Richard Prescott being tenant at will;
10s. from Gorstilow or Gorstifield, the
same tenant; 25s. from Haselhurst,
Buckshead, and Willins carr, leased to
John son of Ralph Orrell for 509 years
from 1533, when Edward Prescott was
tenant; the second best animal, or 6s. 8d.,
was paid as heriot; and 8s. from a
quarter of the Helde in Dalton, formerly
Walsh's, William Shaw being tenant;
Duchy of Lanc. Mins. Accts. bdle. 136,
no. 2198, m. 7 d.

15. A grant of Burscough lands, including Dalton, was made to the Earl of Derby
in 1603; Pat. 1 Jas. I, pt. v, 21 July.
William Rigby of Lathom, who died
just before this date, held land in Dalton
of the Earl of Derby, as parcel of the possessions of the dissolved monastery of
Burscough; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), i, 20; see also i, 30,
and ii, 185.
Part of the Burscough lands was later
granted to Robert Hesketh; Pat. 12 Jas. I,
pt. 5.

16. Lands in Dalton were included in a
fine concerning the Derby manors, &c., in
1708, John Earl of Anglesey and Henrietta Maria his wife, being deforciants;
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 260, m. 53.
They were sold under a decree of 14 July
1719 to Thomas Franke; Cal. Exch. of
Pleas, D. 3; see the account of Lathom.

17. John le Waleys acquired land in
Dalton in 1283; Final Conc. i, 161.
Richard le Waleys in 1322 held a fourth
part of the manor of Dalton; ibid. ii, 46.
This was in possession of Eleanor wife
of Thomas de Formby in 1372; ibid. ii,
183.

18. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m.
173; William and Edward Bradshagh
were the vendors. About a year afterwards Matthew Clifton had a dispute with
John Orrell and others regarding a coalmine in Dalton; Ducatus, i, 222. William
Clifton was hanged at Lancaster 28
Aug. 1562 for participation in the murder of William Huyton of Blackrod;
he had lands in Dalton held of William,
Lord La Warr, by knight's service and
the rent of 12d.; also lands in Mawdesley and Ormskirk; Duchy of Lanc. Inq.
p.m. xi, no. 40.

19. For the descent see the account of
Tarbock. See also Final. Conc. ii, 183,
Maud widow of Richard de Torbock
granted her annuity from Walton Lees to
Gilbert de Haydock in 1340; Raines
MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, 45; also 247,
&c., for other arrangements, in one of
which John the son of Maud is named;
he is not otherwise known. In the endorsement of one deed Maud is called
'de Standish.' Walton Lees and Turton
were early secured by the Orrells, according to the award of the arbitrators in
1425; Croxteth D. Z. i, 21. Ralph
Orrell, who died in or before 1535, held
messuages and lands in Dalton of the Earl
of Derby by a rent of 14d. and of
Lord La Warr by a rent of 12d.; Duchy
of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vii, no. 1; those said
to be held of the Earl of Derby were perhaps in Upholland or Orrell.
In 1543 a formal agreement was made
between Lord La Warr and John Orrell
of Turton, setting forth that the latter
held his lands, &c. in Dalton of the lord
of Manchester by fealty and the yearly
rent of 12d., and by doing suit at the
court of the manor of Manchester twice a
year; Manchester Corp. D.; Ducatus
Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 74. A grant
or confirmation of lands in Orrell and
Dalton was made to William Orrell in
1599; Pat. 41 Eliz. pt. 11.

20. Walton Lee is mentioned in a grant
to Cockersand; Chart. ii, 629. Richard
son of Thurstan de Waltonlees in or
before 1270 released 2 acres in the vill of
Walton Lees to Henry de Torbock; Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, no. 17.
In 1292 Denise, wife of Richard son
of Stephen de Dalton Lees claimed lands
in Upholland and Sivardslee against
Richard Lascelles and Amice (or Avice)
his wife; William son of Warine son of
Matthew, a minor, was called to warrant;
Assize R. 408, m. 33. The defendants
are named in an earlier suit; Assize R.
1238, m. 31 d.
In 1322 Henry son of Richard
Lascelles quitclaimed to Ellen de Torbock all his right in the Green in Dalton;
Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, no. 14.
In 1341 Gilbert de Haydock granted
lands in Dalton to Burscough Priory.
Part at least was held of Maud widow of
Sir Robert de Holland by a rent of ½d.;
and part had been purchased from Warine
Lascelles; Inq. p.m. 15 Edw. III (2nd
nos.), no. 30; Kuerden fol. MS. fol. 175.
Three years later Henry Lascelles of
Walton Lees claimed certain lands in
Dalton against Adam del Ley of Welch
Whittle, John the Prior of Burscough,
Gilbert de Haydock, Maud de Standish,
and others; afterwards the estate was
described as a fourth part of four messuages, 2 oxgangs of land, &c., and the
resulting suits show the descent of the
Torbock quarter of the manor; Assize R.
1435, m. 38 d.; De Banco R. 346, m.
155 d.; 348, m. 146, &c. Isolda widow
of Warine Lascelles claimed dower in 1348
from Thomas, Prior of Burscough, and
Henry de Molyneux of Halsnead, respecting the grant to the priory; Assize R.
1444, m. 6.
In 1501 John Lascelles held the
Cockersand lands in Upholland by a rent
of 12d.; Cockersand Rental (Chet. Soc.), 7.
In 1574 Thomas 'Lassell' and Elizabeth his wife had a water-mill and other
property in Upholland; Pal. of Lanc.
Feet of F. bdle. 36, m. 25. Thomas
Lassell, who seems to have married a
second wife named Margaret, had a son
Edward, whose first wife was named
Grace, and second Ellen; there are various
fines concerning their estate in Dalton and
Upholland, and in 1586 they sold land in
Upholland to Anne Halsall; ibid. bdle.
41, m. 136; 48, m. 103, &c. The name
occurs in later documents.

21.
Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 362.
John Orrell was deforciant of the manors
of Turton and Dalton in 1607; Pal. of
Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 72, m. 5. William
Orrell of Turton died in 1612 seised of
the manor of Dalton, which was held of
Sir N. Mosley as of his manor of Manchester by a rent of 12d.; thus only the rent
of a quarter of the manor was paid;
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and
Ches.), i, 224.

22. There are a few brief notes of the
family deeds in Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 95.
Pedigrees were recorded in 1613 and
1664; Visit. (Chet. Soc.), p. 97 and
p. 9 respectively; abstracts of some deeds
are printed with the former. There is a
later one in Foster's Lancs. Pedigrees.
The place-name occurs in a charter by
Richard le Waleys early in the 14th century, mention being made of lands which
Hugh son of Osbert held in Ashhurst;
Burscough Reg. fol. 35b.
The following other members of the
family are named in the deeds in Harl.
MS. 2112; Roger, in Scarisbrick; Hugh,
with John and Adam his sons, in Shevington; Thomas, whose mother was
Hannah daughter of Robert Torbock, in
Lathom; William in Winstanley; Ralph
and Henry his son in Upholland; all in
undated deeds.

23. Harl. MS. 2112; Visit. of 1613;
grants from Simon to his sons Robert and
John.
Simon de Ashhurst was defendant in a
plea concerning 20 acres in Dalton in
1292; the plaintiff, Robert son of William
de Senington (? Shevington) and grandson of Robert son of Osbert, was nonsuited; Assize R. 408, m. 30.

26. Ibid.; Visit. of 1613. Richard and
Adam de Ashhurst contributed to the
subsidy of 1322, the former paying 5s.
out of a total of 16s.; Exch. Lay Subs.
(Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 8.

27.
Staff. Hist. Coll. (W. Salt Soc.), xviii,
38, 85, &c. Pardons were granted at his
request in 1347; ibid. 277. His retinue
consisted of four esquires and two archers;
ibid. 200.
In 1336, already a knight, he received
a grant of land in Dalton from John the
Harper of Dalton; Visit. of 1613. Three
years after he had a protection from the
king, dated at Brussels, as being in the
royal service in parts across the seas;
Harl. MS. 2112. There are also references to him in the Cal. Pat.
In 1341 he acquired land in Dalton
from Richard son of Adam de Huyton
and Alice his wife; Final Conc. ii, 114;
see also De Banco R. 328, m. 155 d. He
was still living in 1366, when he granted his
lands to his son John; Harl. MS. 2112.

30. Ibid. A John Ashhurst of Dalton
in 1481 granted to William Bolland,
Abbot of Cockersand, a rent of 12d. and
6s. 8d. at death as an obit; Towneley
MS. DD, no. 1553.

31. About 1540 William Ashhurst was
tenant of the Hospitallers' land in Dalton,
at a rent of 12d.; Kuerden MSS. v, fol.
84. The rent suggests an alternative
origin for the 'fourth part of the manor'
subsequently claimed for this family. In
1559 a settlement was made of lands in
Dalton by William Ashhurst and Cecily
his wife, who according to the pedigree of
1613 were the parents of the William Ashhurst of 1590; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F.
bdle. 21, m. 143.

33.
Manchester Ct. Leet Rec. iii, 19;
'his will dated 6 February 1615–16 was
proved at Chester 9 April 1618. He
mentions his wife Margaret; his son
Henry Ashhurst, and his daughter Anne
Elston, and Robert, Elizabeth, Margaret,
Henry, Anne, and Mary Elston, children of
the latter. Henry Ashhurst was to pay
his mother £40 a year; in default of which
she was to have all the testator's lands in
Bispham and Wrightington for her life.'

34.
Visit. of 1613, p. 98; Local Glean.
Lancs. and Ches. ii, 250; marriage settlement dated June 1606. Baxter says that
he 'was a gentleman of great wisdom and
piety, and zealous for the true reformed
religion in a country where papists much
abounded. And when King James, the
more to win them, was prevailed with to
sign the book for dancing and other such
sports on the Lord's days, he being then a
justice of the peace, as his ancestors had
been, and the papists thus emboldened
sent a piper not far from the chapel to
draw the people from the public worship,
he sent him to the house of correction.
And being for this misrepresented to the
king and council he was put to justify the
legality of what he did at the assizes;
which he so well performed that the judge
was forced to acquit him—though he was
much contrary to him; and an occasion
being offered to put the oath of allegiance on
his prosecutors, their refusal showed them
papists, as was before suspected'; ibid. 251.
Henry Ashhurst was the only Dalton
landowner contributing to the subsidy of
1628; Norris D. (B.M.). He and Cassandra his wife were in possession of the
manor in 1630; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F.
bdle. 115, no. 3. In the following year
he paid £25 as composition on refusing
knighthood; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), i, 212. About the same time he
was engaged in the trial of Anne Spencer,
a known witch; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep.
xiv, App. iv, 55.

35. 'A very holy man,' according to
Oliver Heywood; Diaries, ii, 142. His
career and virtues are recorded by Richard
Baxter in the funeral sermon quoted in
the last note. See also Wood, Athenae
Oxon. (Eccl. Hist. Soc.), i, 157–8; and
Dict. Nat. Biog.

36.
Local Glean. ii, 272, 275; Pink and
Beaven, Parl. Rep. of Lancs. 280, 73.
He was a member of the fourth Presbyterian Classis in 1646; Baines, Lancs.
(ed. Croston), i, 308.

37.
Local Glean. ii, 276. Afterwards, as
a leading Presbyterian, he joined in the
attempt to set Charles II on the throne in
1651, and took refuge in the Isle of
Man; Cal. of Com. for Advance of Money,
iii, 1464. See Civil War Tracts (Chet.
Soc.), 77, &c.; Royalist Comp. Papers
(Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 176–7.

39. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 256,
m. 3. The estate is described as the
manor of Dalton, with messuages, barns,
dovecote, lands, wood, common of pasture
and turbary, and 20s. rent in Dalton,
Wrightington, Ormskirk, Lathom, Bispham, Skelmersdale, Shevington, Orrell,
and Hutton.
In 1721 King's Silver was paid by
Thomas Ashhurst and Diana his wife for
a fine concerning the manors of Dalton,
Upholland, and Skelmersdale; Pal. of
Lanc. Plea R. 512, m. 8.

40. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 347, m.
26. This Henry is omitted in the pedigree in Foster, but appears in the Alumni
Oxonienses as son of Thomas Henry Ashhurst, having entered Exeter College, Oxford, in 1739, aged eighteen; he was made
D.C.L. in 1754, being then of Waterstock, Oxfordshire. Sir William Henry
Ashhurst is stated to have been born in
1725; Dict. Nat. Biog.

41. William Arrowsmith of Warrington
in the rental of 1473, already quoted,
paid 6d.; this was possibly a part of the
Burscough quarter, the prior being returned as paying 6d. only. Hugh Arrowsmith occurs in 1555; Pal. of Lanc.
Feet of F. bdle. 15, m. 40. In 1598
there was a dispute as to land between
William Ashhurst and Robert Arrowsmith; Ducatus (Rec. Com.), iii, 393.

42. As will have been seen from the
Burscough rental the Prescotts were
tenants of the priory at the Dissolution
for Dalton Hey and Gorstilow. Alice
and Edward Prescott were among the
defendants in a case regarding these lands
in 1548; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), iii, 51. Richard Prescott and
Ellen his wife occur in 1560; Pal. of
Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 22, m. 108. He
seems to have been a lessee of the Orrells
for their manor of Walton Lees, and his
children were orphans in 1596; Ducatus,
iii, 206, &c.
The Recusant Roll of 1641 includes two
Prescotts, also Crosses, Holland, &c.;
Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xiv, 239. The
Earls of Derby owned the tithes of Dalton, and about 1782 sold their right to
Mr. Prescott, in whose family it remains; Bridgeman, Wigan Ch. 258.

43. In 1554 Lewis Orrell had a dispute
with Robert, Ralph, Hugh, and Agnes
Holland respecting a close in Dalton
called the Barn Hey; Duchy of Lanc.
Plead. Edw. VI, x, O. 1. In 1560 Richard
Holland and Margaret his wife had land
at Dalton; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F.
bdle. 22, m. 102.
In a fine of 1572 concerning land in
Dalton in which Richard Holland, Ralph
Crosse, Philip Moss, and Edward Prescott
were plaintiffs, and Richard Chisnall and
Thomas Lathom deforciants, the latter
warranted Richard Holland and his heirs
against Lord La Warr, the heirs of
William Bradshagh, deceased, James
Howorth, and Margaret his wife, and
Margaret's heirs, and John Parbold and
Margery his wife; ibid. bdle. 34, m. 16.
Richard Holland died 29 Apr. 1587
holding lands in Dalton, Parbold, and
Ormskirk, which by his will he left to his
wife Margaret for life and then to his
son and heir James; the latter was sixtyeight years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq.
p.m. xiv, no. 20. James Holland, perhaps
a son of the last-named James, died in
1605, leaving a son and heir Richard,
eleven years old; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec.
Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 30.
In 1717 Ellen Holland, daughter of
James Holland, as a 'papist' registered
an estate at Dalton for the life of her
sister Mary; Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 131.

46. The name has a great variety of
spellings.
In 1202 Syfrethelegh was part of the
tenement of Alan de Windle (or de
Pemberton) in which Edusa his widow
claimed dower; Final Conc. i, 38. In
1241 Robert de Holland released his
claim to twelve oxgangs in Pemberton,
on receiving from Adam de Pemberton
the homage and service (viz. 5s. 6d. rent)
of Thomas de Siverdelege in the latter
place; ibid. 82.
Very early in the 13th century Edrith
de Sivirdeleie granted a portion of his
land to Cockersand Abbey, the bounds
commencing at a burnt oak by Swinley
Carr, so to two oaks, and to Raven's
Oak, and by syke and brook to the great
bank, and so to the start; this was
afterwards held by a tenant paying 12d.
and a half a mark at death; Cockersand
Chart. ii, 627. In 1271 or 1272 Robert
son of Thomas de Siverthelege released
to Matthew de Bispham and his heirs
all his right in the abbey's land in
Slverthelege, rendering to the abbot 12d.
a year; this land was in 1268 held by
Matthew de Holland; ibid. ii, 629, 630.
It is clear that Matthew de Holland
was the same as Matthew de Bispham,
and it was for him probably that Robert
de Holland had before bought out the
interest of Adam de Pemberton.